November 22, 2010
Homeschooling | The Truth About Socialization
” Socialization” is probably the most common reason people are opposed to homeschooling. I can honestly tell you that I have never met a homeschooler who has a socialization problem.
The question to ask is, “What is socialization?” Is socialization learning how to relate to others, no matter what your age? If this is the case, then you will certainly find it interesting that in the government school system, children become peer -dependant. This is not a good social skill. What other time in their lives will they be surrounded only by people their same exact age? In the job market? Anywhere? Do they even get to “talk” to the teachers? Aren’t they mostly talked “to.” In the home, children converse with adults , which is what they will one day become. It makes sense that we would train them to converse with all age groups. This naturally happens in the home.
What is acceptable socialization? Is acting, speaking, dressing, and thinking like everyone else socialization? I personally cannot stand to hear the word “like” repeated a dozen times in one conversation……or one sentence! I personally don’t want my children doing most of the things that their government school counter-parts do. (“Public” school is when the public gets a say in what is taught, and can be involved in the activities or teaching. We do not have public schools. We have government schools. The government dictates what is taught, how it is taught, who must attend, who is qualified to teach, and what makes them qualified.)
Socialization has nothing to do with a given age-group. Children need good adult models who exemplify the desired values and help them develop those values. The “socialization” that is prevalent in today’s schools include ridicule, violence, “me-first” attitudes, and peer pressure to do immoral things like cheat, lie and give up one’s purity. No Thanks!!! In a warm environment (the home), true socialization will be 100 % more effective than in a classroom. Young people need significant interaction with supportive adults to become secure adults. They will be adults much longer than they will be children, so it seems to reason that they should learn socialization skills from adults, and not children.
Some people think we are sheltering our children from the evils of the world. You bet we are! God created a garden for Adam and Eve that was without sin. Our children need to learn what “right” and “wrong” are from Godly people, not the world that screams that there is no right or wrong (relativism.) We are responsible for these precious children. God has made it quite clear how He feels about people leading the little ones astray. (Does a “millstone” mean anything to you?) The home is a hedge of protection, designed by God. Children who spend the majority of their time only with their age-mates become peer-dependent. What is good about that? It seems to me that the socialization “skills” that everyone is so afraid homeschoolers are going to “miss out on” are all actually negative. You bet we want to miss out on them!
Children can’t guide children. They are still being trained themselves. Children were not meant to evangelize their peers. This is not scriptural. The only commands mentioned specifically in the Bible for children are for them to obey and honor their parents. They don’t need to have pressure put on them that God doesn’t put on them. Most children are pulled down by their peers. Seldom, if ever, is a child “pulled up.” “Bad company corrupts good character.” It is not worth it.
The truth is that homeschoolers are making the government schools look so bad that they can’t say we aren’t educating our children properly anymore. (You would think that they would be asking us what we are doing and try to duplicate it!) SAT/ACT and other test scores are proving that we are doing a superior job. (“Seek ye first…”) So, now they have to come up with something to complain about, and socialization is the chosen subject. All studies, however, prove that the homeschooled child is better at socializing with all age groups than those who are in the public school system (and are peer-dependent.) How many public school kids will carry on a conversation with you beyond……….”Yes.” ……….. “No”…………. “I dunno”….. ….. “Like…Like…Like.” (That drives me crazy!!!)
The bible says, “Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child…..” A fool around a bunch of other fools all day long will surely not produce wisdom. Put a bunch of kids together and you have a bunch of foolishness. We desire wisdom, do we not?
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5 Comments on Homeschooling | The Truth About Socialization »
June 15, 2011
HelloTxt @ 2:02 am:
Legitimate
Patches6 @ 9:49 am:
There are three kinds of people: those who are educated about and excepting of homeschooling, those who will never except homeschooling, and those who have been misinformed about homeschooling.
For those who are not willing to accept homeschooling, tell them to mind their own business.
For those who have been misinformed:
Tell them that Harvard, Yale, Princeton and many other public and private Universities are actively seeking homeschooled students not only for their superior academic records, but because home school graduates are more actively involved in campus activities and are better at interacting with a wide variety of people than their public or private school counterparts.
Tell them that your kids social skills are improved by the fact that you are there to correct social problems as they happen instead of waiting until the problems spiral out of control.
July 28, 2011
Twitter @ 11:26 am:
Homeschool Socialization – Developing Your Homeschool Child’ –
August 15, 2011
sewgoodmama @ 7:49 pm:
Not only are you arrogant, you are also ignorant. All research indicates that not only are homeschoolers well socialized and well adjusted, but that they also participate in more social activities as children and adults. Research also shows that public schools are harmful to social skills and the ability to socialize. Homeschooling gives the chance to be around a wider variety of people. Homeschoolers are not limited to being around only those who live in the same school district and who were born in the same 12 month period. Instead, homeschoolers are free to be around people of all ages and who live within a larger area. There are so many ways to socialize beyond the box that is public school. Statistics show that the average homeschooler participates in 3x the number of extracurricular activities over their public school counterparts. Studies also show that homeschoolers are more active in their community not only when they are homeschooling but also once they enter college and/or the workforce.
There also seem to be the assumption that parents can't teach more then they know. There are many false assumptions about how homeschooling works such as: parents are the only ones teaching; the parent can't learn right along with the student; students can't learn something on their own…etc. If humans were incapable of learning beyond what their parents knew we would still be living in caves. Humans are curious by nature. It is the unnatural setting of public school that kills that natural desire.
Statistics and standardized test scores prove that homeschooling works. Homeschoolers consistently score higher than their public school peers. When homeschoolers are broken down into categories by their parents’ education levels, the children of school teachers/those with degrees in educational fields score slightly lower that the average for homeschoolers. While no one knows for certain why this is the case, it is believed that “trained teachers” are more likely to insist that a student bend to fit the curricula instead of bending the curricula to fit the student’s needs. Most former school teachers that homeschool will tell you that their schooling got in the way of being an effective homeschool parent.
Many homeschoolers take AP and/or college courses during high school. It is very common for a homeschooler to graduate high school with 1-2 years of college credits. This is usually due to dual enrollment at a local community college or by taking CLEP exams.
There are many ways to meet friends and to be active while homeschooling such as:
Take up a new hobby or expand on a current one
Volunteering
Join a homeschool co-op
Join a homeschool social group
Join the YMCA, YWCA, Boys Club/Girls Club
Take classes through the local recreation center or private studio such as: sports, dancing, martial arts, art etc
Learn to play a musical instrument
Book Clubs
Scouts
Activities through your church/synagogue/mosque/coven etc
It is really sad that those who have bought into the myths and stereo-types are unable to think beyond the literal and figurative box of public school. They do not realize that the reason all their childhood memories and friends come from school is because they spent the majority of their waking hours from the ages of 5-18 in public school or involved in its activities. They assume that friends and childhood memories can only come from public school because sadly that is the only experience they have. They have been duped into believing that public school equals the real world yet they fail to realize that nowhere else in life other than prison is one’s life so controlled by others. In school you can't even take a drink of water or use the restroom without the permission of someone else.
ETA: Why do public-schoolers want to be raised in the box called public school where every moment of their lives is controlled by government workers when one day they will have to be out in the real world in control of their own lives?
October 26, 2011
trdyblue @ 4:20 am:
probably more like anti-society and I understand.